If anyone would like to see larger versions of the pictures in the first post you can look here:

http://postimage.org/image/336zhuh2c/
http://postimage.org/image/336xub4kk/
http://postimage.org/image/33715dtk4/

[e5frog]

Me neither, I bought a two-pack of screwdrivers for 2 EUR and modified the flat one like described by the pioneers:

Took a while to make but worked perfectly.

EDIT: Seems adding normal postimage-linked pictures with thumbnails here really sucks… same miniature picture opens in a new window.

• This reply was modified 15 years, 5 months ago by e5frog.
• This reply was modified 15 years, 5 months ago by e5frog.

Link currently doesn’t work.

I just heard about this, has anything else happened, any progress, a working prototype?

Those 2mm x 2mm connectors needs to be adjusted to fit properly, I had used one of those for my homemade eprom board. If the connector parts aren’t adjusted a little with a pin they loose connection very easily I also recall having to sand down the sides of it a little to fit in the slot. Furthermore the plastic part is shorter than an original connector so it won’t go into the slot properly unless you have an extension on the PCB that lengthens the connector piece a little.

I had a post somewhere here… *looking*

Here:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=9727#forumpost9727

Had to add 2mm or so, so that the board wouldn’t stop the connector from going all the way in. It increases the chance of a good connection than if only part of the pins in the mating connector is inserted.

I noticed the other day that Richard H. had started selling microSD card Vectrex cartridges so I had hoped to see some thread about a finished “FlashBoy Plus SD” or something like that… Seems like there wasn’t much point in making one if this project gets finished.

It’s 2mm between pins side by side but apparently only 1.4mm between the two rows.

The connector I used for my single 27C160 UV ROM cart, that Krisse linked to earlier, has 2mm in both directions but the holes are larger so it will work.

I had to bend the connector pieces a little individually for a better fit and also sand down the sides for a less tight insertion. So for manufacturing this should be seen as a last option as it’s very time consuming. But if you build one yourself and don’t have a donor cart – it’s a decent option.

I’ll send the CAD drawing to my Thai contact as soon as I get them and try to get an estimate of manufacturing costs of the cart shell as well as the connector and dust cover. I’m guessing that the mold manufacturing cost will be extreme and pretty damn high for each part… But we’ll see.

I’m thinking all black pieces and no logos anywhere where it previously said Virtual Boy or Nintendo.

Just fix both of them and you’ll have no problems until something else breaks. 😉

MineStorm wrote:

The old/clunky/expensive chips will still have to be used for ROM

How much does a 16MByte x 16 5V SRAM cost ?

Do they exist ?

Digikey.com has ONE, they have only 66 of it and it’s $22 per pcs.
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=CY62167ELL-45ZXI-ND

And to make a complete cart you would also need a memory for the “battery backed up memory”.

I guess if you had a larger memory and for example an avr that takes care of the microSD-card transfers. It could also switch to an independent area of this memory so that you’d have memory backup for all the games that uses it. For not yet developed homebrews there would need to be user-configurable (via the needed selection menu) setting for the left over free areas if they are locked to the commercial games for example.

Alternatively, the mikroprocessor used has enough memory to store the battery backed up ram and then save it as a file on the microSD card preferrably using the same name with another file suffix.

I’m pretty sure I already wrote about this wet dream in another thread. That was actually named after that subject…

Yes:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&order=ASC&topic_id=3763&forum=2&move=next

“Discussion about a microSD equipped Virtual Boy cartridge.”

16Mbits would be enough size for the commercially released games, but as discussed, to open the door for larger projects perhaps even more room would be nice.

You can get 128Mbit SRAM for $13, downside is they are BGA chips (not really for soldering at home) and they work in the voltage range 1.7 – 1.95 V.
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=557-1444-1-ND

I’m not sure there are voltage level shifters for that range but it may be just as “cheap” using a 128Mbit chip with a level shifter as a 5V SRAM that’s only 16Mbit.

It also opens up the ability to use SRAM space for battery backed up space, that is then saved to the microSD card upon reset or similar.

Like the 1541U-II, the boards could be manufactured elsewhere and screwed together afterwards.

Zubari95’s “wait and see” attitude unfortunately doesn’t automatically fix VB:s. I bought a cheap loose set from eBay, and despite not touching it for three months it still works poorly. 😉

I’m planning to open it up and fix it eventually.

There’s at least one guy that repairs these in his business, you have to search for him here, don’t remember the alias. Or try and google it. I think you can even ship loose displays and get a fixed pair back.

That’s like saying: “It works perfectly fine as long as you don’t actually use it”…

If you want to be able to use it, setting the knobs and so on the way you like it, you have to repair it properly. The way they mounted it 15 years (or more) ago is not sufficient.

Vaughanabe13 wrote:
I’m only going by what DogP says on this one, and he says 128 megabits.

http://www.projectvb.com/tech/cartpinout.html

The VB would most likely ruin a chip that runs at 3.3V. The only possibility would be a chip that runs at 3.3V but has 5V tolerant inputs. But those are just as rare as the 5V chips so it doesn’t help.

The only way to get around using some kind of flash/RAM would be to right a routine in my micro that interprets the VB address requests, fetches the corresponding word from the SD card, and places it on the address bus. But I haven’t figured out yet if my micro will be fast enough to do that.

Yes as DogP writes the pin 4 is selection pin for expansion area /ES – and there’s the magic pin to use another 128Mbits – apparently.

You can use 3.3V chips (and those of other voltages) if you use level converters – you will actually have to when the 5V chips become increasingly harder to find.

A solution with an SD-card would be the ultimate solution. It will have it’s limitations of course. If it has a limited SRAM that holds the whole ROM for normal parallel usage the size of this will limit the maximum size of the cart – however, as has been mentioned before, none of the commercial games are more than 16Mbit (2MByte).

If we want to open up for larger homebrews perhaps it would be nice to be able to use the extreme capacities of the VB. Running directly towards the SD card sounds like an interesting method…

Looking at the title of the thread I’m a little surprised it ended up here. 😉

To bad the SRAM can’t be backed up or restored, that kind of kills the joy about it a little.

I guess Richard never got the FeRAM to work then, would have been really nice with memory not needing a battery.

Great work anyway, looking forward to getting one!

I’m guessing you want it right away? Otherwise you can just sign up for the coming batch:
http://www.planetvb.com/modules/liaise/index.php?form_id=8

Have you tried inserting and pulling it out of the VB a few (or a lot of) times, that might wear through possible oxidation.

Just buy 5 packs of bread then and 4 packs of hot dogs and save what’s not going to be eaten immediately in the freezer.

We actually have 10 packs of bread in Sweden now-a-days. 😉

I can’t update my summary since editing is not allowed anymore but thanks for the update.

Perhaps you should post how many preorders you’ve gotten so far – so people know if there’s still a chance of getting one. Not much of an idea to send a preorder if there’s 100 people on the list already… 😉

Wake up – he said he was looking for hires scans, and he wants scans of the box so he can manufacture a bunch of his own in China… or just print one out for himself. 😉

I expect it to have a lot better 3D effect than the 3D TV:s they have begun to sell. With your eyes 12 cm apart (or whatever) and sitting 3m away from a 40″ TV – how narrow is the viewing angle if wanting to achieve the 3D effect?

I’m guessing the person in the middle and that’s it…

Black is cheaper, red is usually either heavy metal oxides or organic – so either bad for nature (when scrapped) or it will fade.

I have asked my Thai friend about making cart shells and connectors. I’m going to send him a set and he’s going to start taking in offers.

If we want it to look good it’s best done from a proper CAD-drawing in my opinion.

Shall I ask to have it look exactly like the original with logos or can we settle for something with the logos taken out – just a smooth surface? Some factories will deny any registered trademarks, others don’t but charge extra and some don’t give a damn but the prices are of course different.

The mold is going to be EXPENSIVE, but it doesn’t heart to ask – right?

And I suggest black – it’s also UV resistant…

You’ll get a loose V.B Baseball from me – I want one – and I want it now, have a M Tennis as well that’s already completely disassembled in all components. You don’t even have to desolder the connector.

I have a Welsh guy in Thailand that has had fake GBA SP:s manufactured. Perhaps he could have these done from scratch to finish for good money if we can order 500 units or so…

I recently purchased one of those fake GBA SP:s BTW, 5000 built-in Nintendo games.

Where do I send the payment, I’d like to pay NOW.

It’s no problem finding them, but finding them at a proper price is difficult. 5V eproms of that size and capacity is tricky.

Kri55e – what amount is needed and which maximum price is OK?